Ulrika Jonsson has claimed she did Nancy Dell'Olio a favour by having an affair with Sven Goran Eriksson.

The TV presenter said she was the best thing that had ever happened to Dell'Olio.

She told Hello! magazine: "In a way, I think I've done her a world of good. She is incredibly well known now and that's something she obviously enjoys. Ironically, I was probably the best thing that happened to her."

She said: "I was perceived as the guilty one in that affair and Sven got away with it because he is a leading figure in football, which is more important than anything else in this country.

"It became a match between me and her. But I didn't have a relationship with her, I had a relationship with her boyfriend."

Ulrika, who is expecting a baby with new husband Lance Gerrard-Wright, insisted she had no feelings "either negative or positive" about Dell'Olio. Eriksson remained with Dell'Olio and four months later Jonsson began seeing Gerrard-Wright, star of dating show Mr Right.